MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Beethoven: Symphonies Nos 1 & 5

"The Philadelphia playing is articulate, full bodied when the music demands it" - Gramophone Magazine

Beethoven's First Symphony arguably marks the end of the classical period and the beginning of romanticism. Premiered on April 2 1800, it quickly surprised the audience with its audacity and marked Beethoven out as a composer to be watched. Composed during one of his most prolific periods, Beethoven's Fifth has achieved worldwide fame and entered the popular consciousness.
A conductor of rare energy and vitality, Riccardo Muti toured and recorded extensively with the Philadelphia Orchestra during his tenure as their Music Director. These two Beethoven symphonies are taken from the complete cycle that Muti recorded with the Philhadelphia Orchestra.

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Riccardo Muti has been Music Director at La Scala since 1986 and was Music Director of The Philadelphia Orchestra between 1980 and 1992, subsequently becoming the Orchestra's Conductor Laureate. Between 1968 and 1980 he was Principal Conductor and Music Director of the Maggio Musicale Festival in Florence. In 1972 he conducted the Philharmonia Orchestra with such great success that he succeeded Otto Klemperer as their Principal Conductor. In 1979 he became Music Director of the same orchestra and, in 1982, 'Conductor Laureate'. In 1987 Muti was appointed Principal Conductor of the Orchestra Filharmonica della Scala with whom he received the Viotti d'Oro in 1988.
In 1988, under Muti's leadership, La Scala toured Japan, Germany and France where Muti conducted Verdi's Requiem in the Cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris. His triumphant La Scala tour of Russia in 1989 was marked by the appearance of eminent figures such as Mikhail Gorbachev and Andrei Sakharov, whilst in July 1992 he conducted La traviata and Verdi's Requiem as part of a La Scala tour to Spain for 'Expo '92'.

For 25 years Riccardo Muti has conducted operas and concerts at the Salzburg Festival and his performances of Mozart's operas have become a Festival tradition. In addition to his collaboration with La Scala he has conducted new productions of operas in Munich, Vienna and London. A regular guest of the Berlin Philharmonic and the Vienna Philharmonic, he took the latter on tour in Autumn 1990 and visited all the leading European cities. In January 1991 he conducted the Vienna Philharmonic at the inaugural concert for the Mozart celebrations in Salzburg, and on 22 March 1992 he conducted the orchestra in the auditorium of the Musikverein in celebration of its 150th birthday.

Riccardo Muti has recorded on EMI Classics for the past 20 years and has made numerous recordings of sacred, operatic and symphonic music during this time. The EMI Classics release of Schubert's Second Symphony completed Riccardo Muti's recording of all the Schubert's symphonies with the Vienna Philharmonic, now currently available as a boxed set. This is of particular significance since Maestro Muti is the first Italian orchestra conductor to have recorded all Schubert's symphonies with the orchestra since its last recording over thirty years ago.

In December 1992 Riccardo Muti opened the season at La Scala with the opera Don Carlo with Luciano Pavarotti, Samuel Ramey and Daniella Dessi. It was recorded by EMI Classics during five live performances, and released in March 1994, together with a video release of the Zeffirelli production. April 1994 saw the release of a disc of French orchestral music: Debussy's La Mer, Ravel's Une barque sur l'océan and Chausson's Poème de l'amour et de la mer with Waltraud Meier, all performed by The Philadelphia Orchestra, and in September 1994 EMI Classics released Muti's recordings of Vivaldi's The Four Seasons, and the Chamber Concertos Op.8 No.5 and Op.10 No.2 with I soloisti dell'Orchestra Filharmonica della Scala.

In July 1994, Riccardo Muti conducted Bellini's opera Norma at the Ravenna Festival, performances which the Italian newspaper Il resto del Carlino called 'The most remarkable musical interpretation... of recent years'. The distinguished cast was led by the young English soprano Jane Eaglen, with Vincenzo La Scola and Eva Mei, and accompanied by the Orchestra e Coro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino. This performance of Norma was recorded live by EMI Classics for international release on the label in July 1995. In addition, Muti's performance of Mozart's La clemenza di Tito, recorded live at the Salzburg Festival in 1988 with the Vienna Philharmonic and Chorus of the Vienna Staatsoper is now released as part of the famous Salzburger Festspieldokumente series.

In March 1996 EMI Classics recorded Muti conducting Pergolesi's Stabat Mater, Salve Regina and In Coelestibus Regnis in performances with I soloisti dell'Orchestra Filharmonica della Scala, and soloists Barbara Frittoli and Anna Caterina Antonacci. This recording was released in September 1996. In December 1996 Muti celebrated 10 years as music director of La Scala, and within this period EMI Classics have recorded many Verdi operas, conducted by Muti, with the forces of La Scala, including Ernani, La Forza del Destino, Rigoletto, Attila, Don Carlo, and I Vespri Sicilliani, as well as Verdi's Requiem.

On 1st January 1997 Riccardo Muti conducted the Vienna Philharmonic in the New Year's Day Concert. This famous annual event was recorded by EMI Classics and rush released within the month. It has sold over 100 000 discs worldwide. This release bears the EMI Centenary logo, and launched the EMI Classics Centenary campaign to highlight and celebrate 100 years of great music on EMI. To celebrate the bicentenary of Schubert's birth, EMI Classics also reissued Muti's recordings of Schubert's symphonies with the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra.

On 1st January 2000, Riccardo Muti conducted the Vienna Philharmonic in the special New Year's Day concert of the new millennium. EMI Classics produced a live recording of this most prestigious of concerts, at the magnificent Musikverein in Vienna, which is said to be one of the most perfect acoustics in the world. The concert was simultaneously broadcast live on New Year's Day to countries around the world - and the CD was rush-released in early January.